Creating and manufacturing documents that initially exceed equipment finishing capacity

ABSTRACT

Techniques described herein overcome many of the issues that have previously made the printing of a single copy of a book from a digital version unattractive and infeasible. According to one embodiment of the invention, an automated mechanism such as a computer program automatically determines whether the spine thickness of a to-be-printed copy of a digital version of a book will exceed the specified maximum spine thickness that a specified binding or other finishing device can handle. In response to determining that the spine thickness will exceed the specified maximum spine thickness, the automated mechanism automatically splits the digital version of the book into two or more volumes such that, for each volume, the spine thickness of the printed version of that volume will be no greater than the specified maximum spine thickness that the specified binding or other finishing device can handle.

RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/621,642 (Attorney Docket No. 49986-0758), which will issue as U.S.Pat. No. 8,712,916, entitled “Creating and Manufacturing Documents ThatInitially Exceed Equipment Finishing Capacity”, filed Sep. 17, 2012,which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/215,112(Attorney Docket No. 49986-0734), now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,271,389,entitled “Creating and Manufacturing Documents That Initially ExceedEquipment Finishing Capacity”, filed Aug. 22, 2011, which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/653,660 (AttorneyDocket No. 49986-0590), now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,004,713, entitled“Creating And Manufacturing Documents That Initially Exceed EquipmentFinishing Capacity”, filed Jan. 12, 2007, the contents of which areincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to printing devices, and more specifically, to atechnique or process for creating and manufacturing, from a digitalversion of a book or other document, a limited number of physical copiesof that book or other document in a cost-effective manner.

BACKGROUND

Books are being digitized and released in digital format, making thesebooks more accessible to Internet users. The focus of this digitizationtypically has been toward enabling online searching and viewing of thedigitized books. A digital version of a book may originate from anoriginal application format file that the publisher used to create thehardcopy printing of the book. Alternatively, a digital version of abook may be created by digitally scanning the printed book.

Support for printing high quality versions of such a digital version ofa book generally has been a lower priority activity. Several issues maybe seen as causing the support for printing such high quality versionsto be a lower priority activity. Some of these issues include, forexample, copyright issues, the higher cost of printing a digital versionof a book, the complexity of a print-ready digital document, the lack ofproducts that are focused on printing a single copy of a digital versionof a book, the limitations of low cost finishing devices, etc. For theseand other reasons, printing a single copy of a digital version of a bookoften has been seen as being unattractive and infeasible.

Traditionally, books have been printed on offset presses and have beenassembled with specialized finishing equipment. To make the printingfinancially feasible, the number of copies to be printed has needed tobe no less than ten thousand copies. In the traditional bookmanufacturing process, the printing and binding processes have beenmanually selected to accommodate the attributes of the book, such as thethickness of the book, the number of pages, the hardness of the cover ofthe book, the number of colors in the book, etc. The publisher and/orthe author of the book typically have dictated the printing and bindingprocesses.

With the advent of low-cost digital printing and finishing systems, thefeasibility of profitably printing low volumes of books has increased.However, in order to provide the required automation and materials forlow-cost book printing, these types of systems have suffered fromconstraints in many areas. Some of these constraints hamper the use ofthese systems in operating a successful book printing business. Onetypical constraint found in these types of systems is the limitation onthe number of pages that can be bound into a single book. A bindingdevice typically has a specified maximum allowable spine thickness ofbooks that the device can bind. The spine thickness of a book may dependon the weight of the paper on which the book is printed. As a result,the maximum number of pages that a binding device can bind may varybased on the weight of the paper on which the book is printed.Additionally, a binding device may have other capacity attributes, suchas a maximum number of sheets that the binding device can handle, forexample. A binding device also may have other limits, such as the widthof the binding tape (for tape binders), the length of the staple (forstapling binders), the maximum length of the stitch (for stitchingbinders), etc.

Under the traditional book printing process, books are specificallydesigned to have a specific thickness, binding type, and page count. Theprinting and finishing processes are selected based on these criteria.

However, digital versions of books typically are not designed to takeinto account any specific finishing device. As a result, digitalversions of books, when printed, sometimes exceed the limitations (e.g.,maximum spine thickness) of finishing devices (e.g., binding devices).Because of the limitations of finishing devices, digital versions ofbooks are often not printed out and bound into a volume. Instead,digital versions are often kept only in digital form.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the invention, a digital version of adocument is automatically split into multiple volumes. According to suchan embodiment of the invention, a limitation of a specified finishingdevice is determined, where the limitation of the finishing deviceprevents the finishing device from being able to finish a printedversion of the entire document as a single volume. Based at least inpart on the limitation of the specified finishing device, the digitalversion of the document is automatically split into multiple volumes,each of which the specified finishing device is capable of finishingdespite the limitation.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a digital version of adocument is prepared for printing. According to such an embodiment ofthe invention, a limitation of a specified finishing device isdetermined, where the limitation of the finishing device prevents thefinishing device from being able to finish a printed version of anentire document given currently specified attributes of the document.Based at least in part on the limitation of the specified finishingdevice, one or more of the currently specified attributes of the digitalversion of the document are automatically adjusted to form an adjusteddigital version of the document, so that the adjusted digital version ofthe document, when printed, does not exceed the limitation of thefinishing device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a book seller's serverreceives, over the Internet, from a user's browser, a request thatidentifies a book. In response to receiving the request, the serversends, over the Internet, toward the user's browser, a set of two ormore different options for manufacturing the book. The server thenreceives, over the Internet, from the user's browser, the user'sselection of a particular option from the two or more options. Inresponse to receiving the user's selection of the particular option, theserver causes the identified book to be manufactured in accordance withthe attributes specified in the particular option.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way oflimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of a process forpresenting options for manufacturing bound books from a digital versionof a book, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram that depicts an alternative example of aprocess for presenting options for manufacturing bound books from adigital version of a book, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen that a bookseller's website mightpresent to a customer, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of a process forselecting a printing/finishing device to print/finish a book based onthe book's thickness, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of a process forautomatically modifying the attributes of a digital version of a book sothat the finishing of the book can be handled by an available finishingdevice, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that depicts an alternative example of aprocess for automatically modifying the attributes of a digital versionof a book so that the finishing of the book can be handled by anavailable finishing device, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a single-volume book and multiplevolumes of that book that may result from splitting the single volumeinto multiple volumes using techniques described herein, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates another example of a single-volume book and multiplevolumes of that book that may result from splitting the single volumeinto multiple volumes using techniques described herein, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of a single-volume book and multiplevolumes of that book that may result from splitting the single volumeinto multiple volumes using techniques described herein, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates some additional examples of a single-volume book andmultiple volumes of that book that may result from splitting the singlevolume into multiple volumes using techniques described herein,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates some additional examples of a single-volume book andmultiple volumes of that book that may result from splitting the singlevolume into multiple volumes using techniques described herein,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a user interface by which a human usermight insert suggested digital volume markers into an existing digitalversion of a book, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram that depicts an example of the operationsthat may be performed by an operator, a print client, a print server,and a print engine, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram that depicts an example of a system topologyin which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram that depicts an example of an alternativesystem topology in which an embodiment of the invention may beimplemented;

FIG. 16 illustrates example user interfaces through which a user canselect options for printing a book when the book is determined to be toothick for a finishing device to handle, according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example user interface through which a user canselect options for finishing (e.g., binding) a book printed from adigital version, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates an example user interface through which a user canselect options for specifying the content of a customized cover of abook that is to be printed from a digital version, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example user interface through which a user canset detailed attributes for a customized cover of a book that is to beprinted from a digital version, according to an embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 20 is a block diagram that depicts a printing device upon which anembodiment of the invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe invention. However, it will be apparent that the invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and devices are depicted in block diagram form in order toavoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Although the term “book” isused in the descriptions below, embodiments of the invention which areapplicable to “books” are, in some cases, equally applicable todocuments other than “books.” Such documents (e.g., documents printed orsaved from web pages or databases) might or might not be bound.Therefore, wherever the term “book” is used in a description of anembodiment of the invention below, it should be recognized that theembodiment of the invention may be applied equally to documents otherthan books. The contents of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/653,660,which issues as U.S. Pat. No. 8,004,713 on Aug. 23, 2011, and which istitled “CREATING AND MANUFACTURING DOCUMENTS THAT INITIALLY EXCEEDEQUIPMENT FINISHING CAPACITY,” are incorporated by reference herein.

Overview

Using techniques described herein, existing digital book content ismarried with “print on demand” (also called “POD”) digital book printingdevices in order to enable cost efficient, limited quantity bookprinting. Techniques described herein improve the creation andmanufacture of books that are printed from digital versions. Techniquesdescribed herein improve the creation and manufacture of such booksgiven the limitations of less expensive existing systems regarding themaximum number of pages and the maximum spine thickness that thoseexisting systems can handle. Techniques described herein overcome manyof the issues that have previously made the printing of a single copy ofa book from a digital version unattractive and infeasible.

According to one embodiment of the invention, an automated mechanismsuch as a computer program automatically determines whether the spinethickness of a to-be-printed copy of a digital version of a book willexceed the specified maximum spine thickness that a specified binding orother finishing device can handle. In response to determining that thespine thickness will exceed the specified maximum spine thickness, theautomated mechanism automatically splits the digital version of the bookinto two or more volumes such that, for each volume, the spine thicknessof the printed version of that volume will be no greater than thespecified maximum spine thickness that the specified binding or otherfinishing device can handle. For example, if a specified binding devicecan only bind books with a maximum spine thickness of two inches, and ifthe automated mechanism determines that a to-be-printed copy of adigital version of a book will have a spine thickness of three inches,then the automated mechanism may split the digital version of the bookinto two separate volumes, the printed copies of each of which will havea spine thickness of one and a half inches. As a result, each volume canbe bound separately by the specified binding device.

As used herein, the term “printing device” includes printers, copymachines, and multi-function peripherals (MFPs) (e.g., the Ricoh AficioColor 5560 system).

In many printing and finishing systems, determining the thickness of adocument is done by checking the number pages to be finished. So, forexample, a printer with integrated finishing (e.g., a stapler) may limitthe finishing to a maximum of 20 pages, because the printer knows thatmore than 20 pages will exceed the capacity of the integrated finishingdevice. Some embodiments of the invention consider the weight of thepaper in determining whether a document exceeds a device's capacity, andsome embodiments of the invention do not. The thickness of a documentmay be determined by counting a number of pages in the document. Somesystems have mechanical or optical means for checking the thickness of adocument.

Splitting a Digital Version of a Book into Volumes

As is discussed above, in one embodiment of the invention, when anautomated mechanism determines that a printed version of a digitalversion of a book will, when printed, have a spine thickness that isthicker than the specified maximum spine thickness that a specifiedbinding or other finishing device can handle, the automated mechanismautomatically splits the digital version of the book into two or morevolumes, each of which, when printed, will have a spine thickness thatis no greater than the specified maximum spine thickness. There areseveral techniques by which a digital version of a book can be splitautomatically into volumes.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the automated mechanismsplits a digital version of a book in a manner such that each resultingvolume will begin with an odd page number rather than an even pagenumber. According to one embodiment of the invention, the automatedmechanism splits a digital version of a book in a manner such that nocontents of any single page of the book end up being split between theresulting volumes—in other words, such that the digital version is splitonly on page boundaries indicated in the digital version.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a digital version of abook contains, for each chapter in the book, a digital marker thatindicates where that chapter begins. In one embodiment of the invention,the automated mechanism splits a digital version of a book in a mannersuch that no contents of any single chapter of the book end up beingsplit between the resulting volumes—in other words, such that thedigital version is split only on chapter boundaries indicated in thedigital version.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the automated mechanismdetermines the specified maximum spine thickness that a specifiedbinding or other finishing device can handle. The automated mechanismthen splits a digital version of a book into volumes such that theprinted version of each volume, except possibly for the last volume,will be as close in thickness to the specified maximum spine thicknessas is possible without requiring a page or chapter to be split betweenvolumes. In such an embodiment of the invention, the number of resultingvolumes may depend at least in part on the specified maximum spinethickness.

According to one embodiment of the invention, instead of making theprinted version of each but the last volume as thick as allowable basedon the specified maximum spine thickness, the automated mechanismattempts to split a digital version of a book such that the printedversion of each of the resulting volumes will have approximately thesame spine thickness as the printed versions of each of the otherresulting volumes while preventing any page or chapter from being splitbetween volumes. In such an embodiment of the invention, the automatedmechanism may attempt to reduce the quantity of resulting volumes asmuch as possible while keeping the spine thicknesses of the printedversions of the volumes approximately equal. Again, in such anembodiment of the invention, the number of resulting volumes may dependat least in part on the specified maximum spine thickness.

In one embodiment of the invention, the automated mechanism splits adigital version of a book into multiple volumes such that the contentsof the pages of the volumes are not different than the contents of thecorresponding pages as they would have been formatted in the originalbook. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the automatedmechanism splits a digital version of a book into multiple volumeswithout changing any page size, page content, margin, font, font size,or line spacing. In other words, in one embodiment of the invention, theautomated mechanism does not shrink or compress pages in order toaccommodate a finishing device such as a binding device.

Automatically Splitting Saddle Stitched Books

Sometimes, the pages of a digital version of a book are represented in amanner such that when the pages of the book are printed, the printedpages can be “saddle stitched” together to form a bound book. In such adigital version, each sheet represents two whole pages—one pageoccupying the left side of the sheet and one page occupying the rightside of the sheet. According to the “saddle stitching” bindingtechnique, such printed sheets are stacked on top of each other and thensewed, stitched, stapled, or otherwise fastened together through thecenter of each of the sheets, such that the fastening mechanism divideseach sheet into the two pages that occupy that sheet. The sheets arethen folded along the center, at the location of the fasteningmechanism, to form a book.

Automatically splitting, into multiple volumes, a digital version of abook that represents pages in this manner can be more complicated thanautomatically splitting a book in which each sheet represents a singlepage. Usually, most of the sheets of the digital version of a book thatcan be saddle stitched will not represent consecutive pages of the book.For example, the last sheet (which will sit on the bottom of the stackof sheets) might represent the first page of the book on the left sideof the sheet and the last page of the book of the right side of thesheet. It might be that the only sheet that represents consecutive pagesof the book is the sheet that will sit on top of the stack of sheets(typically the first sheet).

Therefore, according to one embodiment of the invention, a userprovides, to the automated mechanism, input that specifies whether adigital version of a book represents pages in a saddle stitchedconfiguration. In response to receiving user input that specifies that adigital version of a book represents pages in a saddle stitchedconfiguration, and after determining a number of volumes into which thebook should be split, the automated mechanism reconfigures the sheets ofthe digital version of the book so that each digital version of eachvolume can be saddle stitched when printed. Such reconfiguration mayinvolve relocating pages from sides of sheets to other sides of othersheets so that all of the pages that belong to a particular volume willbe located on sheets that correspond to that volume.

For example, if a digital version of a book comprises 50 saddlestitchable sheets such that the fiftieth (bottom) sheet represents thecontents of both the page 1 and page 100 (side by side) of the book, andif the automated mechanism determines that the book should be split intotwo volumes of 25 saddle stitchable sheets each, then the automatedmechanism may reconfigure the page contents on all 50 sheets beforesplitting the digital version of the book into volumes. In this example,the automated mechanism might relocate the page contents among thesheets so that the contents of the first 50 pages (pages 1-50) arerepresented on the first 25 sheets and so that the contents of thesecond 50 pages (pages 51-100) are represented on the second 25 sheets.Thus, in this example, after the reconfiguration, the twenty-fifth sheetwould represent the contents of pages 1 and 50, side by side, and thefiftieth sheet would represent the contents of pages 51 and 100, side byside.

Suggested Volume Markers Embedded in the Digital Version

According to one embodiment of the invention, similar to the way that adigital version of a book may contain digital markers that indicate pageand/or chapter boundaries in the book, a digital version of a book maycontain digital markers that indicate suggested points at which the bookmight be split into volumes most appropriately. Such digital volumemarkers might be added to the digital version of the book by the creatorof the digital document. Alternatively, a user might use a markingmechanism such as a computer program to edit an existing digitaldocument and insert such digital volume markers into the existingdigital document. Digital volume markers may be inserted into a digitalversion of a book by users other than the user who will ultimately printthe volumes of the book, or by the user who will ultimately print thevolumes of the book. When the digital version of the book is transferredfrom one storage device to another, the digital volume markers mayremain embedded in the digital version of the book.

Later, if the automated mechanism determines that the book should besplit into multiple volumes in order to accommodate the limitations of aspecified finishing device, the automated mechanism may automaticallyselect, from among all of the digital volume markers in the digitalversion of the book, one or more digital volume markers that indicatelocations in the book such that if the book were split into volumes atthose locations, each of the volumes would not exceed the limitations ofthe specified finishing device. Thus, even in cases where the automatedmechanism automatically chooses the location(s) within a digital versionof a book at which the digital version will be split into volumes, theautomated mechanism's choice may be guided by the previous suggestionsof human users represented by the digital volume markers embedded withinthe digital version of the book.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a user interface by which a human usermight insert suggested digital volume markers into an existing digitalversion of a book, according to an embodiment of the invention. Forexample, to insert a digital volume marker, a user might right clickwith his mouse while the mouse pointer is positioned at the location inthe book at which the user would like to insert the marker. In response,the user interface may present a pop-up menu from which the user canselect an option such as “add section break.” In response to selectingthis option, a suggested digital volume marker may be inserted into thedigital version of the book at the designated location.

Splitting into Volumes Based on Shipping Cost Considerations

Often, a customer who orders a book to be printed on demand from adigital version will be ordering the book via a remote website. As aresult, the customer often will not be able to pick up the bound copiesof the volumes in person; instead, the website's operator will need toship the bound copies of the volumes to the customer using some shippingservice (e.g., a government operated postal service). Some postage costmay be associated with the shipping.

In one embodiment of the invention, a digital version of a book isautomatically split into multiple volumes in a manner that takes intoaccount postage costs that will be required to ship resulting volumes ifthe book is split in various ways. In one embodiment of the invention,the automated mechanism automatically attempts to split the digitalversion of the book in a way that will minimize the postage and/or othershipping costs. In one embodiment of the invention, the automatedmechanism automatically attempts to split the digital version of thebook in a way that will minimize the amount of time required to ship theprinted version of the book.

For example, the automated mechanism may estimate, for each resultingvolume, a maximum possible weight that the volume will weigh if thevolume is made to be a certain thickness. The automated mechanism mayattempt to split the digital version of the book in a way that keeps theestimated maximum weight of each volume below a certain weight thresholdat which postage and/or shipping costs are known to increase. By keepingthe weight of each volume below a specified threshold, resulting boundvolumes sometimes may be shipped separately at lower costs than if thosevolumes were shipped together within a single package.

The automated mechanism may consider factors other than weight whenattempting to split a digital version of a book in a way that willreduce postage and/or shipping costs. For example, the automatedmechanism may base the generation of the multiple resulting volumes atleast in part on the physical dimensions (i.e., height, width, andlength) of those volumes. Sometimes, a package with dimensions thatexceed a specified threshold will cost more to ship than a package withdimensions that do not exceed this threshold. Thus, the automatedmechanism may attempt to generate resulting volumes in a manner suchthat the dimensions of each of those volumes will not exceed such athreshold.

Automatically Customized Cover Pages for Volumes

In one embodiment of the invention, when a digital version of a book issplit into two or more volumes as described above, the automatedmechanism modifies the digital version of each of the resulting volumesso that each digital version contains a customized cover page. In oneembodiment of the invention, each customized cover page added to adigital version of a resulting volume by the automated mechanismspecifies the order of that volume within the set of volumes (e.g.,volume one, volume two, etc.). Additionally, in one embodiment of theinvention, each such customized cover page also specifies the totalnumber of resulting volumes in the set (e.g., volume one of seven,volume two of seven, etc.). The automated mechanism may generate eachcustomized cover page automatically.

Integrated and Separate Finishing Devices

Finishing devices, such as binding devices, sometimes are integratedinto a complex printing device that prints the digital version of thebook (e.g., as two or more volumes) and then automatically binds theprinted version of the book (e.g., as two or more volumes).Alternatively, finishing devices may be simple, single-function devicesthat are entirely separate from the printing device that prints thedigital copy of the book.

In one embodiment of the invention, separate volumes of a digitalversion of a book are printed concurrently on separate printing devices.A user may take the printed pages produced by a printing device and feedthose printed pages to a separate finishing device. In one embodiment ofthe invention, separate volumes of a digital version of a book areoutput by a single printing device into separate output trays of thatprinting device. A user may take a printed volume from such a tray andfeed that printed volume to a finishing device that is separate from theprinting device. The user may feed the contents of each of the printingdevice's output trays, each of which holds a separate printed volume, tothe finishing device separately.

Alternatively, a single printing device may output the printed versionof each volume to the same output tray, but collate the printed versionsof the volumes relative to each other so that each stack of pages thatcomprises a volume is offset from the stacks of pages immediately aboveand below, if any. Additionally, each stack may be prefaced by anautomatically generated (not part of the original digital version of thebook), customized cover sheet that indicates which volume of the bookthat stack represents.

A user may provide, as input to the automated mechanism that splits thedigital version of a book, an identity of a target finishing deviceand/or the limiting characteristics of that target finishing device.Based on the user input, the automated mechanism may split or otherwiseformat the digital version of a book so that each resulting volume canbe handled without difficulty by the target finishing device.

Automatic Spine and Cover Graphic Modification

When a book is split up into two or more volumes, the spines of each ofthose volumes, when bound, will be less thick than the spine of theprinted version of the entire book would have been. According to oneembodiment of the invention, the automated mechanism automaticallymodifies the digital version of the cover of each resulting volume sothat the cover, when folded, will have a spine that is of a thicknessthat fits the stack of printed pages of that resulting volume.

“Perfect binding” refers to a process whereby a cover of a book isprinted as a single “wraparound” sheet that is at least as tall as theheight of a single page of the book, but is as wide as the width of atleast two pages of the book plus the thickness of the spine of the book.When the wraparound sheet is folded and wrapped around the stack ofpages that the book comprises, part of the wraparound sheet forms theback cover of the book, part of the wraparound sheet forms the spine ofthe book, and part of the wraparound sheet forms the front cover of thebook. Sometimes, the digital version of the book includes a digitalversion of this wraparound sheet, which sometimes contains graphicsand/or text on the front cover and/or spine areas. In one embodiment ofthe invention, the automated mechanism determines an appropriate widthfor the wraparound sheet given the calculated thickness of the printedbook, and instructs a finishing device to cut or trim the wraparoundsheet to the appropriate width.

In one embodiment of the invention, when a digital version of a book issplit into multiple volumes as described above, the automated mechanismgenerates and places a modified version of the wraparound page into thedigital version of each resulting volume. In one embodiment of theinvention, for each such volume, the automated mechanism modifies thewidth of the spine portion of the wraparound sheet for that volume sothat the width of the spine portion will fit the thickness of theprinted version of that volume. Inasmuch as the printed version of eachvolume may be of a different thickness, the width of the spine portionof the wraparound sheet for each version may differ.

In one embodiment of the invention, when the automated mechanismmodifies the width of the spine portion of a wraparound page for aparticular volume, the automated mechanism also automatically compressesthe text and/or graphics on the spine portion so that they will stillfit on the reduced-thickness spine. For example, if the automatedmechanism reduces the width of the spine portion by 75%, then theautomated mechanism may automatically and proportionately compress thetext and/or graphics on the spine portion so that the text and/orgraphics are 75% as wide as the original text and/or graphics on theoriginal unmodified spine portion. For example, text that runs acrossthe long part of the spine may be compressed in height so that theletters of the text are not as tall as they would have been on theoriginal, uncompressed spine. If the length of the spine is unchanged,then the letters of the text may remain as wide as they would have beenon the original, uncompressed spine.

In one embodiment of the invention, the automated mechanism adds, to thespine portion of each volume's wraparound sheet, a graphical indicatorof the order of that volume within the set of volumes (e.g., vol. 1,vol. 2, etc.). Additionally, in one embodiment of the invention, theautomated mechanism adds, to the spine portion of each volume'swraparound sheet, a graphical indicator of the total number of resultingvolumes in the set (e.g., vol. 1/7, vol. 2/7, etc.).

In one embodiment of the invention, the automated mechanism alsomodifies the front cover portion of each volume's wraparound sheet.Specifically, in one embodiment of the invention, the automatedmechanism adds, to the front cover portion of each volume's wraparoundsheet, a graphical indicator of the order of that volume within the setof volumes (e.g., volume one, volume 2, etc.). Additionally, in oneembodiment of the invention, the automated mechanism adds, to the frontcover portion of each volume's wraparound sheet, a graphical indicatorof the total number of resulting volumes in the set (e.g., volume one ofseven, volume two of seven, etc.).

Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, the wraparound sheets intowhich the different resulting volumes are bound are identical to eachother except with respect to (a) the width of the spine portion, (b) theextent of compression of the text and/or graphics on the spine portion,and (c) spine portion markings and/or front cover portion markings thatidentify the order of the corresponding volume in the set of volumes. Asa result, in one embodiment of the invention, the resulting volumes,when bound, have a uniform, visually pleasing appearance that is similarto the appearance of the original single book.

In one embodiment of the invention, if the original digital version of abook does not contain a digital version of a wraparound sheet asdescribed above, then the automated mechanism automatically generates adigital version of a wraparound sheet for each of the digital versionsof the resulting volumes. In one embodiment of the invention, theautomated mechanism accepts user input that identifies digital contentthat the automated mechanism is to use to generate the digital versionsof the wraparound sheets.

Automatically Changing Attributes of a Book to Allow Finishing by anAvailable Finishing Device

In one embodiment of the invention, in response to a determination thatno available finishing device can handle the thickness of a book thatwill be printed from a digital version of that book, attributes of thedigital version are automatically changed so that the book can behandled by an available finishing device when the book is printed.

For example, in order to reduce the thickness of the printed copy of thebook, an automated mechanism might change, in the digital version of thebook, a specified paper type on which the book is to be printed. As aresult, the contents of the book may be printed on a thinner type ofpaper, thus reducing the printed copy's overall thickness.

For another example, in order to reduce the thickness of the printedcopy of the book, an automated mechanism might change, in the digitalversion of the book, a font size and/or font type of a font in which thecontent of the book is written. As a result, the contents of the bookmay be printed on a fewer sheets, thus reducing the printed copy'soverall thickness.

For another example, in order to reduce the thickness of the printedcopy of the book, an automated mechanism might decrease, in the digitalversion of the book, the size of the margins that surround the text onthe pages of the book. As a result, the contents of the book may beprinted on a fewer sheets, thus reducing the printed copy's overallthickness.

For another example, in order to reduce the thickness of the printedcopy of the book, an automated mechanism might increase, in the digitalversion of the book, a sheet size of the sheets on which the pages ofthe book are to be printed. As a result, the contents of the book may beprinted on a fewer sheets, thus reducing the printed copy's overallthickness.

For another example, in order to reduce the thickness of the printedcopy of the book, an automated mechanism might decrease, in the digitalversion of the book, the distances between the lines of text in thebook. As a result, the contents of the book may be printed on a fewersheets, thus reducing the printed copy's overall thickness.

In all of the above examples, the automated mechanism might change theattributes of the book to a minimal extent necessary to allow anavailable finishing device to handle the finishing of the book. Theautomated mechanism may change the attributes of the book in a mannerthat preserves the original attributes of the book to the greatestextent possible. Where such a technique is used, it may be possible toavoid splitting the book into multiple volumes if such splitting isundesirable.

Example Techniques and Processes

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of a process forpresenting options for manufacturing bound books from a digital versionof a book, according to an embodiment of the invention. In block 102, acustomer orders a book. For example, a customer might order a book froma bookselling website via the Internet. The bookselling website mightoffer, to the customer, a feature by which the customer can request theprinting of the book “on demand” from a digital version of the book.Digital versions of several different books might be stored in adatabase, for example.

In block 104, a determination is made as to whether the book's thicknessexceeds the maximum thickness allowed by the existing finishing device(e.g., a binding device). For example, an automated mechanism at thebookselling website might determine whether the ordered book's printedthickness will be greater than the maximum thickness that a specifiedbinding device can handle. The automated mechanism may make thisdetermination based on (a) an identify of the specific binding devicethat will be used to bind the book, as identified by a human operatorand (b) previously stored data that indicates, for each of severaldifferent known binding devices, the known maximum thicknesses that eachof those binding devices can handle. Such data may be stored in adatabase, for example. If the book's thickness exceeds the maximumthickness, then control passes to block 108. Otherwise, control passesto block 106.

In block 106, the book is manufactured using the traditional bookmanufacturing process. For example, the bookselling website's computermay send the digital version of the book to an integratedprinting/binding device to be printed and bound as a single volume. Thebound book may be shipped to the customer's address.

Alternatively, in block 108, the digital version of the book isautomatically segmented into multiple volumes. For example, an automatedmechanism at the bookseller's website may automatically segment thedigital version of the book into two or more volumes using any of theexample processes described above. Control passes to block 110.

In block 110, a separate bound book is manufactured for each of thevolumes. For example, the bookselling website's computer may separatelysend a digital version of each volume to an integrated printing/bindingdevice to be separately printed and bound. The two or more resultingbound volumes may be shipped together to the customer's address.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram that depicts an alternative example of aprocess for presenting options for manufacturing bound books from adigital version of a book, according to an embodiment of the invention.In block 202, a customer orders a book. For example, a customer mightorder a book from a bookselling website via the Internet. Thebookselling website might offer, to the customer, a feature by which thecustomer can request the printing of the book “on demand” from a digitalversion of the book.

In block 204, a determination is made as to whether the book's thicknessexceeds the maximum thickness allowed by the existing finishing device(e.g., a binding device). For example, an automated mechanism at thebookselling website might determine whether the ordered book's printedthickness will be greater than the maximum thickness that a specifiedbinding device can handle. The automated mechanism may make thisdetermination based on (a) an identify of the specific binding devicethat will be used to bind the book, as identified by a human operatorand (b) previously stored data that indicates, for each of severaldifferent known binding devices, the known maximum thicknesses that eachof those binding devices can handle. If the book's thickness exceeds themaximum thickness, then control passes to block 208. Otherwise, controlpasses to block 206.

In block 206, the book is manufactured using the traditional bookmanufacturing process. For example, the bookselling website's computermay send the digital version of the book to an integratedprinting/binding device to be printed and bound as a single volume. Thebound book may be shipped to the customer's address.

Alternatively, in block 208, the customer is asked whether he is willingto receive a multi-volume book, and options are presented to thecustomer. For example, the bookselling website may ask the customerwhether he is willing to have the book printed as a multi-volume setcontaining multiple bound volumes rather than as a single bound book.Control passes to block 210.

In block 210, a determination is made as to whether the customeraccepted a multi-volume book. If the customer was willing to receive thebook in the form of a multiple volume set, then control passes to block214. Otherwise, control passes to block 212.

In block 212, either the book order is cancelled or the customer isallowed to choose another method of obtaining the book, if other methodsare available. For example, if an already printed but used copy of thebook is available, or if a mass manufactured copy of the book isavailable, then the bookseller's website may give the customer theoption of purchasing such a copy. The bookseller's website also may givethe customer the option of canceling the order entirely if no otheroption is available or if the customer is unwilling to accept any copyof the book other than an “on demand” printing of a digital version ofthe book.

Alternatively, in block 214, the digital version of the book isautomatically segmented into multiple volumes. For example, an automatedmechanism at the bookseller's website may automatically segment thedigital version of the book into two or more volumes using any of theexample processes described above. Control passes to block 216.

In block 216, a separate bound book is manufactured for each of thevolumes. For example, the bookselling website's computer may separatelysend a digital version of each volume to an integrated printing/bindingdevice to be separately printed and bound. The two or more resultingbound volumes may be shipped together to the customer's address.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen that a bookseller's website mightpresent to a customer, according to an embodiment of the invention. Thescreen shows several different options that can be used formanufacturing a particular book. According to one option, the book canbe printed and bound by “FedEx Kinko's” as a multi-volume set. Accordingto another option, the book can be printed and bound by “Ricoh DocumentManagement” as a full-sized single volume book with a soft cover.Different print service vendors might be able to handle differentmaximum book thicknesses. In one embodiment of the invention, thecustomer can select a soft covered edition of a book, which an availablebinding device can bind due to the edition having a soft cover, ratherthan a multi-volume hard covered edition of the book. In one embodimentof the invention, a book seller's server receives, over the Internet,from a user's browser, a request that identifies a book. In response toreceiving the request, the server sends, over the Internet, toward theuser's browser, a set of two or more different options for manufacturingthe book. Examples of such options are described herein, and may pertainto cover, binding, and size, for example. The server then receives, overthe Internet, from the user's browser, the user's selection of aparticular option from the two or more options. In response to receivingthe user's selection of the particular option, the server causes theidentified book to be manufactured in accordance with the attributes(cover, binding, size, etc.) specified in the particular option. Forexample, the server may automatically print and bind the book from adigital version using a printing and finishing device that the serverselects based on that device's ability to print and bind the book withthe attributes specified in the particular option.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of a process forselecting a printing/finishing device to print/finish a book based onthe book's thickness, according to an embodiment of the invention. Inblock 402, a customer orders a book. For example, a customer might ordera book from a bookselling website via the Internet. The booksellingwebsite might offer, to the customer, a feature by which the customercan request the printing of the book “on demand” from a digital versionof the book.

In block 404, the book's thickness is determined and a database ischecked for printing/finishing devices that can handle the book'sthickness. For example, if the book is known to be three inches thick,then an automated mechanism (e.g., a computer program) might consult adatabase for available printing and/or finishing devices that can handlethe printing and/or finishing (e.g., binding) of books that are threeinches thick. The database may indicate, for each availableprinting/finishing device, the maximum thickness that theprinting/finishing device can handle. The automated mechanism may selecta printing/finishing device from among the available printing/finishingdevices based at least in part on the data in the database.

In block 406, the digital version of the book is sent to anautomatically selected printing/finishing device that can print/finish(e.g., bind) books that are at least as thick as the book that thecustomer ordered. The selected printing/finishing device prints and/orfinishes (e.g., binds) the book. Thereafter, the printed and bound bookmay be shipped to the customer's address.

Although in one embodiment a printing/finishing device is automaticallyselected based on the maximum book thickness that the printing/finishingdevice can handle, in another embodiment of the invention, a printservice vendor is automatically selected from among a set of printservice vendors based on the maximum book thicknesses that each suchprint service vendor can handle, as indicated by data that is stored ina database. In such an embodiment of the invention, a digital version ofthe book is sent (e.g., via the Internet) to the selected print servicevendor for printing and/or finishing (e.g., binding).

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of a process forautomatically modifying the attributes of a digital version of a book sothat the finishing of the book can be handled by an available finishingdevice, according to an embodiment of the invention. In block 502, acustomer orders a book. For example, a customer might order a book froma bookselling website via the Internet. The bookselling website mightoffer, to the customer, a feature by which the customer can request theprinting of the book “on demand” from a digital version of the book.

In block 504, before the book is printed, a determination is made as towhether the thickness of a printed copy of the book will exceed themaximum thickness that can be handled by a specified printing/finishingdevice if the book is printed on a specified type of paper (i.e., with aspecified thickness, height, and/or width). If the printed book'sthickness will exceed the maximum thickness, then control passes toblock 506. Otherwise, control passes to block 508.

In block 506, one or more attributes of the digital version of the bookare automatically adjusted so that the thickness of the book, whenprinted, will not exceed the maximum thickness that can be handled bythe specified printing/finishing device. For example, an automatedmechanism may adjust paper type, paper size, font type, font size,margin size, line spacing, and/or other attributes specified in thedigital version of the book prior to printing. After modification, thedigital version of the book may be “re-flowed” so that the book'scontents can be re-distributed among the book's pages based on thealtered attributes. Control then passes to block 508.

In block 508, the book is manufactured using the traditional bookmanufacturing process. For example, the bookselling website's computermay send the digital version of the book to an integratedprinting/binding device to be printed and bound as a single volume. Thebound book may be shipped to the customer's address.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that depicts an example of an alternativeprocess for automatically modifying the attributes of a digital versionof a book so that the finishing of the book can be handled by anavailable finishing device, according to an embodiment of the invention.In block 602, a customer orders a book. For example, a customer mightorder a book from a bookselling website via the Internet. Thebookselling website might offer, to the customer, a feature by which thecustomer can request the printing of the book “on demand” from a digitalversion of the book.

In block 604, before the book is printed, a determination is made as towhether the thickness of a printed copy of the book will exceed themaximum thickness that can be handled by a specified printing/finishingdevice if the book is printed on a specified type of paper (i.e., with aspecified thickness, height, and/or width). If the printed book'sthickness will exceed the maximum thickness, then control passes toblock 606. Otherwise, control passes to block 616.

In block 606, one or more attributes of the digital version of the bookare automatically adjusted so that the thickness of the book, whenprinted, will not exceed the maximum thickness that can be handled bythe specified printing/finishing device. For example, an automatedmechanism may adjust paper type, paper size, font type, font size,margin size, line spacing, and/or other attributes specified in thedigital version of the book prior to printing. After modification, thedigital version of the book may be “re-flowed” so that the book'scontents can be re-distributed among the book's pages based on thealtered attributes. Control then passes to block 608.

In block 608, a description and/or visual representation of the bookthat will result when printed from the attribute-modified digitalversion is presented to the customer. The customer is asker to confirmthe order. For example, the bookseller's website may present such adescription and/or visual representation to the customer and ask thecustomer to indicate whether a printed copy matching that descriptionand/or visual representation will be satisfactory to the customer.Control passes to block 610.

In block 610, a determination is made as to whether the customerconfirmed the order of the attribute-adjusted copy of the book. If thecustomer confirmed the order, then control passes to block 614.Otherwise, control passes to block 612.

In block 612, either the book order is cancelled or the customer isallowed to choose another method of obtaining the book, if other methodsare available. For example, if an already printed but used copy of thebook is available, or if a mass manufactured copy of the book isavailable, then the bookseller's website may give the customer theoption of purchasing such a copy. The bookseller's website also may givethe customer the option of canceling the order entirely if no otheroption is available or if the customer is unwilling to accept any copyof the book other than an “on demand” printing of a digital version ofthe book.

Alternatively, in block 614, the digital version of the book in whichthe attributes of the book's content have been adjusted to allow thebook to be printed/finished by the specified printing/finishing deviceis set to be the version from which the book will be printed (i.e.,rather than the original, unadjusted digital version). Control passes toblock 616.

In block 616, the book is manufactured using the traditional bookmanufacturing process. For example, the bookselling website's computermay send the digital version of the book to an integratedprinting/binding device to be printed and bound as a single volume. Thebound book may be shipped to the customer's address.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a single-volume book and multiplevolumes of that book that may result from splitting the single volumeinto multiple volumes using processes described herein, according to anembodiment of the invention. As shown, the graphics and text on thespines of the resulting volumes have been compressed to fit the thinnerspines, and volume numbers have been added to the spines and covers ofthe resulting volumes. In this case, the scaling of the text andgraphics on the spine is anamorphic, such that the size of the text andgraphics has been compressed in one dimension but retained in the otherdimension.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example of a single-volume book and multiplevolumes of that book that may result from splitting the single volumeinto multiple volumes using processes described herein, according to anembodiment of the invention. As shown, the graphics and text on thespines of the resulting volumes have been compressed to fit the thinnerspines, and volume numbers have been added to the spines and covers ofthe resulting volumes. In this case, the scaling of the text andgraphics on the spine is proportional, such that the size of the textand graphics has been compressed in both dimensions.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of a single-volume book and multiplevolumes of that book that may result from splitting the single volumeinto multiple volumes using processes described herein, according to anembodiment of the invention. As shown, the graphics and text on thespines of the resulting volumes have been compressed to fit the thinnerspines. In this case, volume numbers have been added to the spines andcovers of all of the resulting volumes except for the first volume. Thisis because, under some circumstances, customers may desire for the firstvolume's cover and/or spine to appear identical to the cover and/orspine of the original single-volume book. The covers of the volumesfollowing the first volume also may have different and/or additionaltext and/or graphics than the cover of the first volume has.

FIG. 10 illustrates some additional examples of a single-volume book andmultiple volumes of that book that may result from splitting the singlevolume into multiple volumes using processes described herein, accordingto an embodiment of the invention. As shown, an original, single-volume“perfect bound” book may be split into volumes that are bound usingbinding techniques other than the binding technique that would be usedto bind the original book. In one example shown, the resulting volumesare “saddle stitched” with a single “wraparound” cover sheet. In anotherexample shown, the resulting volumes are dual stapled with separatefront and back cover sheets. In both examples, the resulting volumeslack any printing on any spine, unlike the original representation ofthe book.

FIG. 11 illustrates some additional examples of a single-volume book andmultiple volumes of that book that may result from splitting the singlevolume into multiple volumes using processes described herein, accordingto an embodiment of the invention. As shown, an original, single-volume“perfect bound” book may be split into volumes that are bound usingbinding techniques other than the binding technique that would be usedto bind the original book. In one example shown, the resulting volumesare single stapled with separate front and back cover sheets. In anotherexample shown, the resulting volumes are tape bound with separate frontand back cover sheets. In both examples, the resulting volumes lack anyprinting on any spine, unlike the original representation of the book.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram that depicts an example of the operationsthat may be performed by an operator, a print client (e.g., a printerdriver), a print server (or print controller) (e.g., a web server), anda print engine (e.g., a printing device, which may be integrated with afinishing device), according to an embodiment of the invention. Theprint client, print server, and print engine may be embodied in the sameor in separate machines. In step 1301, an operator tells a print clientto start a print job. In step 1302, the print client submits a singlejob to a print server. In step 1303, the print server advises the printclient that the job exceeds the binding capacity at the target finishingdevice and provides the operator with options. In step 1304, theoperator instructs the print client to continue. In step 1305, recoveryoptions are selected. In step 1306, the print server submits, to a printengine, multiple jobs that fit within the finishing limit. Additionally,cover pages are modified. In step 1307, the print engine instructs theprint server that the jobs are complete. In step 1308, the print serverinstructs the print client that the jobs are complete. In step 1309, theprint client instructs the operator that the process is done.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram that depicts an example of a system topologyin which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. The systemcomprises a print client 1402 (e.g., a printer driver), a network 1404(e.g., a local area network, direct connection, and/or the Internet),and a printing device 1406 (which may be integrated with a finishingdevice such as a binding device). In this example, the automatedmechanism that splits a digital version of a book into multiple volumesand/or adjusts attributes of a digital version of a book is embeddedwithin printing device 1406.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram that depicts an example of an alternativesystem topology in which an embodiment of the invention may beimplemented. The system comprises a print client 1502 (e.g., a printerdriver), a network 1504 (e.g., a local area network, direct connection,and/or the Internet), a print server 1508 (e.g., a web server) and aprinting device 1506 (which may be integrated with a finishing devicesuch as a binding device). In this example, the automated mechanism thatsplits a digital version of a book into multiple volumes and/or adjustsattributes of a digital version of a book is embedded within web server1508.

FIG. 16 illustrates example user interfaces through which a user canselect options for printing a book when the book is determined to be toothick for a finishing device to handle, according to an embodiment ofthe invention. In a first user dialog shown at the top of FIG. 16, auser is asked to specify a filename for the digital version of the bookto be printed and finished, a filename for the digital version of thebook's cover, and a number of copies of the book to be printed.Optionally, the user may specify options related to the cover andoptions related to the finishing process.

In response to a determination by the automated mechanism that thedigital version of the book cannot be handled by a specified finishingdevice (e.g., because the printed copy of the version will be too thickfor the specified finishing device to bind), a second user dialog suchas is shown at the bottom of FIG. 16 may be displayed to the user. Thissecond user dialog informs the user that the specified document exceedsthe capacity of the specified finishing device. The second user dialogallows the user to select from among several options in order to recoverfrom this problem. In the example shown, the user is given the optionsof (1) printing the book as a multi-volume set using partitionboundaries (e.g., suggested digital volume markers) embedded in thedigital version of the book, if any such partition boundaries have beenset, (2) printing the book as a multi-volume set in which each of thevolumes is of approximately the same thickness (while preventingchapters and pages from being split between volumes), (3) repaginate thebook to fit within the specified printing device's limits—for example,by adjusting attributes of the digital version of the book as describedabove, or (4) cancel the printing of the book entirely.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example user interface through which a user canselect options for finishing (e.g., binding) a book printed from adigital version, according to an embodiment of the invention. The userinterface shown might be displayed to a user in response to the userclicking on the “options” button next to “finishing” as shown in thefirst dialog of FIG. 16, for example. In the example shown, a user canselect from among different binding options such as “staple,” “perfectbind,” “saddle stitch,” and “tape bind.”

FIG. 18 illustrates an example user interface through which a user canselect options for specifying the content of a customized cover of abook that is to be printed from a digital version, according to anembodiment of the invention. The user interface shown might be displayedto a user in response to the user clicking on the “options” button nextto “cover” as shown in the first dialog of FIG. 16, for example. In theexample shown, a user can specify (a) whether a cover sheet will beprinted for the book, (b) whether the cover will consist of separatefront and back cover sheets and (c) whether the cover will consist of asingle “wraparound” cover sheet. The types of cover sheets that may beselected by the user may be limited based on the type ofbinding/finishing that the user has specified (e.g., via the userinterface shown in FIG. 17) since some cover options may be incompatiblewith some binding/finishing techniques. In the example shown, the userinterface additionally comprises buttons which the user can select inorder to set details which pertain to the cover sheet generally, frontand back cover sheets specifically, and/or a “wraparound” cover sheetspecifically.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example user interface through which a user canset detailed attributes for a customized cover of a book that is to beprinted from a digital version, according to an embodiment of theinvention. This user interface may be presented to a user in response tothat user clicking on one of the “details” buttons shown in FIG. 18, forexample. In the example shown, the user interface includes a drop-downbox by which a user can select a printing device's input tray from whichthe printing device should draw media for the book's cover. The userinterface may indicate the type of media that is currently contained inthe selected input tray. Additionally, the user interface may contain adrop-down box that allows a user to specify the type of media onto whichthe cover should be printed; if such a media type is specified, then theuser interface may automatically set the input tray to be the input traythat currently contains that type of media, if any input tray currentlydoes.

Additionally, in the example shown, the user interface allows a user toselect from a set of options pertaining to how text and/or graphics areto be printed on the cover sheet. In the example shown, these optionsinclude (1) do not print on the cover sheet, (2) print on only one sideof the cover sheet, and (3) print on both sides of the cover sheet.

Implementation Mechanisms

FIG. 20 is a block diagram that depicts a computer system 2000 uponwhich an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Computer system2000 includes a bus 2002 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 2004 coupled with bus 2002for processing information. Computer system 2000 also includes a mainmemory 2006, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, coupled to bus 2002 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by processor 2004. Main memory 2006 also maybe used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions to be executed by processor2004. Computer system 2000 further includes a read only memory (ROM)2008 or other static storage device coupled to bus 2002 for storingstatic information and instructions for processor 2004. A storage device2010, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupledto bus 2002 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 2000 may be coupled via bus 2002 to a display 2012, suchas a liquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying information to a user.An input device 2014, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupledto bus 2002 for communicating information and command selections toprocessor 2004. Another type of user input device is cursor control2016, such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys forcommunicating direction information and command selections to processor2004 and for controlling cursor movement on display 2012. This inputdevice typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specifypositions in a plane.

The invention is related to the use of computer system 2000 in awireless communications architecture. According to one embodiment of theinvention, wireless communications are provided by computer system 2000in response to processor 2004 executing one or more sequences of one ormore instructions contained in main memory 2006. Such instructions maybe read into main memory 2006 from another computer-readable medium,such as storage device 2010. Execution of the sequences of instructionscontained in main memory 2006 causes processor 2004 to perform theprocess steps described herein. One or more processors in amulti-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 2006. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus,embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combinationof hardware circuitry and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 2004 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as storage device 2010. Volatile media includes dynamic memory,such as main memory 2006. Transmission media includes coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus2002. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or lightwaves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 2004 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 2000 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitterto convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupledto bus 2002 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal andplace the data on bus 2002. Bus 2002 carries the data to main memory2006, from which processor 2004 retrieves and executes the instructions.The instructions received by main memory 2006 may optionally be storedon storage device 2010 either before or after execution by processor2004.

Computer system 2000 also includes a communication interface 2018coupled to bus 2002. Communication interface 2018 provides a two-waydata communication coupling to a network link 2020 that is connected toa local network 2022. For example, communication interface 2018 may bean integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to providea data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephoneline. As another example, communication interface 2018 may be a LAN cardto provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wirelesslinks may also be implemented. In any such implementation, communicationinterface 2018 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or opticalsignals that carry digital data streams representing various types ofinformation.

Network link 2020 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 2020 mayprovide a connection through local network 2022 to a host computer 2024or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP)2026. ISP 2026 in turn provides data communication services through theworldwide packet data communication network now commonly referred to asthe Internet 2028. Local network 2022 and Internet 2028 both useelectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams. The signals through the various networks and the signals onnetwork link 2020 and through communication interface 2018, which carrythe digital data to and from computer system 2000, are example forms ofcarrier waves transporting the information.

Computer system 2000 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 2020 andcommunication interface 2018. In the Internet example, a server 2030might transmit a requested code for an application program throughInternet 2028, ISP 2026, local network 2022 and communication interface2018. In accordance with the invention, one such downloaded applicationprovides for configuring a monitoring system to monitor selected networkelements as described herein. Processor 2004 may execute the receivedcode as it is received and/or stored in storage device 2010 or othernon-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, computersystem 2000 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the inventionhave been described. However, various modifications and changes may bemade to such embodiments of the invention without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification anddrawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather thana restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for ordering abook, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, over anetwork, a request that identifies a book; in response to receiving therequest that identifies the book, sending, over the network, data thatrepresents two or more different options for ordering the book, whereinthe two or more different options for ordering the book include at leastan option for a digital version of the book and at least one of apreviously manufactured book or a book that is manufactured on demand;receiving, over the network, data that indicates a user selection of aparticular option for ordering the book from the two or more differentoptions for ordering the book; determining whether the user selection ofthe particular option for ordering the book is a book that ismanufactured on demand; in response to determining that the userselection of the particular option for ordering the book is a book thatis manufactured on demand, then manufacturing the book in accordancewith one or more manufacturing options for manufacturing the book, theone or more manufacturing options for manufacturing the book includingone or more of a type of cover, a type of binding, or a size for thebook; and in response to determining that the user selection of theparticular option for ordering the book is not a book that ismanufactured on demand, then after receiving the data that indicates theuser selection of the particular option for ordering the book from thetwo or more different options for ordering the book, fulfilling an orderfor the book in accordance with the particular option; wherein one ormore of the steps are performed by one or more computing devices.